Gibbs, David, Cocklin, Chris, and Dibden, Jacqui (2008) Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and the future of rural spaces. Geoforum, 39 (1). pp. 145-147.

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Abstract

[Extrac] The introduction of genetically modified seeds and crops has given rise to substantial public debate, with proponents and opponents taking increasingly fixed positions over the advantages and disadvantages of GM introduction. Public controversies over the introduction of GMOs in the form of seeds and crops continue to ebb and flow, with an uneasy stand-off between the two sides. Despite the obvious fact that GM crops are, by definition, grown in rural areas, there has been relatively little research work that examines the implications of this new technological development for rural spaces. Some commentators have posited an explicit tension between the type of high tech, intensive agriculture epitomised by the adoption of GMOs and alternative rural development/multifunctional land uses examined in a large range of studies on organics, short-food chains, quality food production etc. (e.g., Buller and Morris, 2004, Marsden, 2003, Marsden and Sonnino, 2005, Maye et al., 2007, McCarthy, 2005, Renting et al., 2003 and Sonnino and Marsden, 2006). However, an argument could also be made that GMOs are not inherently inconsistent with the latter form of the rural development model. The session at the Royal Geographical Society-Institute of British Geographers (RGS-IBG) Conference in 2005, where the six papers in this special issue were originally presented, sought to explore the impact that GMOs are having on rural spaces and to examine whether the adoption of GM technology helps to secure or undermine rural futures.

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